Lamp manufacturing apparatus



0, 1942' A. E. DROBISH 2,272,694

LAMP MANUFACTURING APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvam'on A. I. Drab/16b Z27 WM ATTORNEY.

Feb. 10, 1942. A. E. DROBISH LAM P MANUFACTURING APPARATUS 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 Filed June 12, 1940 I INVEIVTOR. 14 E. Drab/5b @AT TQR EY.

" a suitable collecting receptacle.

Patented Feb. 10, 1942 -.uNrrsp-;sTATEs' PATENT OFFICE LAMP MANUFACTURING APPARATUS Adolph E. Drobish, oak Park, m., 'assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, Y., a corporation of New York.

'Application June '12, 1940, Serial No. 340,028

8 Claims.

This invention relates to lamp'manufacturing apparatus and more particularly to improvements in lamp exhausting and tipping-off ma- Machines of the type referred to usually comprise arotary turret having a series of exhaust heads, each adapted to receive an electric lamp assembly having an externally projecting exhaust tube through which the lamp is evacuated. The

turret is intermittently rotated to advance each exhaust head through a series of evacuating statrons and then to a tipping-off station where the a separating and sortingmechanism embodying the invention;

' chines of the type disclosed in Van Sant Patent evacuated lamps are tipped-off and deposited into r I The scrap exhaust tubes are then extracted from the exhaust heads and are deposited into a suitable scrap for preventing the tipping-off of defective lamp assemblies. In some instances, however, the machine fails to tip-ofi satisfactory lamp assemblies because-of some defect in or faulty operation of some part of the'machine. All untipped-oif lamp assemblies are usually extracted from the exhaust heads by means of the scrap exhaust tube extractor and are in eifect, rejected by the machine by being deposited in the same scrap glass receptacle in which the scrap exhaust tubes are collected, thus rendering it diflicult to detect machine defects and to salvage the improperly rejected lamp assemblies.

Objects of the present invention-are to provide, in machines of the type'referred to, means whereby improperly rejected lamp parts may be salvaged economically, and means whereby maglass receptacle. Mechanism is usually provided Fig. z'is anenlarged plan view, partly-in section, of the separating and sorting mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view 3-3 of Fig. 2; v

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view .of the separating mechanism, looking from the left of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 i a fragmentary sectional view taken" on line 5-5 ofFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view 6'B of Fi 3;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an,

untipped-oif lamp assembly, and I Fig. 8 is a similar view of 'a tipped-off lamp and the scrap exhaust tube.

Referring to the drawings, there and tipping-off machine of the type disclosed in the above-referred-to Van Sant patent.

machine is capable of exhausting and tippingj off electric lamp assemblies (Fig.3), which comprise a tubular bulb 26 having sealed therein a filament supporting stem- 21 having an externally projecting tubular portion 28 through I '7 which the lamp is evacuated. After being evacuated, the lamp is tipped-off or separated from the exhaust tube 28, as shown in Fig. 8. The machine comprises a circular series of exhaust heads 30, 3ll arranged adjacent the periphery of a rochine defects, such as result inthe production of tary circular carrier orturret 3|, only a portion I of which is shown in the drawings. Suitable mechanism (none showm'is provided for imparting an intermittent rotary motion to the turret; 3|, whereby the series of exhaust heads are i 4 advanced, step by step,- through a series of sta-- tions. Each exhaust head, upon arriving at the a loading station, designated in Figs. 1 and 2 by the reference numeral I, is adapted to receive a lamp assembly 25, which is inserted, exhaust tube downward, into the exhaust head and is tem of the machine.

which they areextractedso that machine defects can be detected expeditiously and with minimum effort. I

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a lamp exhausting and tipping-off machine equipped with 6 heads so that each head isconditioned to receive thereby connected to the usual evacuating sysseries of evacuating stations, each lamp arrives at a tipping-off station, which is designated in Fig. 1 by the reference numeral 23. Atthisi'station, satisfactory lamps are tipped-off by means of a torch 35. Th tipped-off lamps are deposited into a tube 36 leading into a. suitablecollecting receptacle 31. At station No. 24, which immediately follows the tipping-off station, an extra ctor device 40 extracts scrap exhaust tubes and untipped-ofl lamp assemblies from-the exhaust taken on line taken on line A is illustrated: in Fig. 1 a portion of an electric lamp exhausting After passing through a another lamp assembly upon arriving at the loading station.

In accordance with the present invention, mechanism is provided for automatically separating the untipped-ofi lamp assemblies from the scrap exhaust tubes and for automatically The receptacles are preferably positioned 'adjacent their associated exhaust heads and bear suitable identification markings (none shown) to facilitate identifyingthem with their associated exhaust heads when removed from the machine.

The separating device 44 comprises a vertical tube 48 mounted adjacent a scrap exhaust tube receiver 50 on a bracket 49 fixed to a stationary base portion 46 of the machine frame. The tube .48 extends upwardly beyond the upper end of the scrap exhaust tube receiver and has an elongated entrance slot 5i (Fig. 4) extending longitudinally thereof on the side adjacent the scrap exhaust tube receiver. A pair of spaced vertical guide plates 53, 53 project laterally from opposite sides of slot 5| and have depending portions 54, 54 (Figs. 3 and 4) extending into the upper end of the scrap exhaust tube receiver. Projecting upwardly from the guide plates 53 are a pair of supporting pins 55, 55 having a pair of spaced separating fingers 56, 56 attached to their upper ends. These separating fingers'are in vertical alignment with the guide plates and slope downit passes freely between the separating fingers and guide plates and drops into the scrap tube receiver 50, which directs it into a suitable scrap glass receptacle (none shown). If it is an untipped-off lamp assembly, it slides down the separating fingers into the tube 48, which directs each lamp assembly into that receptacle 45 which is associated with the particular exhaust head from which the lamp assembly was extracted. The turret is then indexed to advance the next exhaust head to the extracting station and the above operations are repeated. Thus, all untipped-off lamp assemblies are automatically separated from scrap exhaust tubes and each untipped-off lamp assembly is automatically associated. with the particular exhaust head from which it was extracted, whereby machine defects may be detected quickly and with minimum effort.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments thereof herein illustrated and described, except insofar as is defined by the appended claims. 7

What is claimed is:

1. In a lamp exhausting and tipping-on machine comprising a rotary carrier having a series of exhaust heads for carrying electric lamp and exhaust tube assemblies through a series of stations, a series of receptacles, one for each exhaust head, means adjacent one of said stations for extracting scrap exhaust tubes and untipped-ofi lamp assemblie'sfrom said exhaust heads, a separating mechanism for receiving the extracted parts from said extracting means and for sepatube 28 of the lamp assembly, but not the larger diameter bulb portion 26 thereof. Thus, scrap exhaust tubes pass freely between the separating fingers arid guide plates and drop into the upper end of scrap exhaust tube receiver 50, but untipped-ofi lamp assemblies are directed by the separating fingers into the tube 48. An external boss or projection 58 is provided on tube 48 just 'above its entrance slot 5|, whereby untippedofi' sembly into the particular receptacle which is associated with the exhaust head 30 from which the lamp assembly was extracted.

In the operation of the machine, each of the series of exhaust heads is indexed through the several stations and finally arrives at extracting station 24. Each exhaust head dwells at this station while the extractor 45 swings into the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, ex-

tracts the scrap exhaust tube or untipped-ofl lamp assembly from the exhaust head and carries it'to a position directly above scrap exhaust tube receiver and between separating fingers and guide plates 53, as illustrated in broken lines inFlgs. 3 and 4. The jaws of the extractor then op n, thus releasing the scrap exhaust tube or lamp' assembly. if it isa scrap exhaust tube,

lib

rating the untipped-ofi lamp assemblies from the scrap exhaust tubes, and means for directing the untipped-ofi lamp assemblies into the receptacles associated with the respective exhaust heads from which said assemblies are extracted.

2. In a lamp exhausting and tipping-off machine having a series of heads movable through a series of stations, each head capable of sup porting an electric lamp and exhaust tube assembly during evacuating and tipping-off operations, an extractor mechanism at one of said stations for extracting untipped-off lamp assemblies and scrap exhaust tubes from said heads upon their arrival at said station, and a separating mechanism for receiving the extracted parts from said extractor mechanism and for separating the untipped-off lamp assemblies from the scrap exhaust tubes. 4

3. In a lamp exhausting and tipping-cit machine having a series of heads movable through a series of stations, each head capable of supporting an electric lamp and exhaust tube assembly during evacuating and tipping-off operations,

an extractor mechanism at one of said stations for extracting untipped-ofi lamp assemblies and scrap exhaust tubes from said heads upon their arrival at said station, a separating mechanism disposed adjacent said station for receiving the extracted parts directly from said extractor mechanism and for separating the untipped-ofl! exhaust tube assembly during evacuating and g avamik ceptacles' associated with the respective heads tipping-oil operations, an extractor mechanism at oneof said stations for extracting untippedoff lamp assemblies from saidheads upon their arrival at said station',.and mechanism for automatically sorting the extracted untippecl-ofi lamp assemblies in accordance with the respective heads from which they are extracted. 5. In a lamp exhausting and tipping-off machine having a series of heads which are progressively advanced through a series of stations, each head capable'of supporting an electric lamp and exhaust tube assembly during evacuating and tipping-oi! operations. an extractor mechanism at one of said stations for extracting untippedoff. lamp assemblies from said heads upon their, arrival at said station, a series of receptacles,

one associated with and disposed adjacent each head,- and guiding means for. directing the extracted untipped-off lamp assemblies from said extractor mechanism into the receptacles associated with the respective heads from which said lamp assemblies are extracted.

6. In a lamp-exhausting and. tipping-off machine having a series of heads movable through a seriesof stations, each head capable of supporting an electric lamp and exhaust tube assembly during evacuating and tipping-off operations, an extractor mechanism at one of said stations for extracting untippedeofi lamp assemblies and scrap exhausttubes from said heads upon their arrival at said station, a separating mechanism for receiving the extracted parts from said extractor mechanism and for separating the un-.

tipped-oi! lamp assemblies from the scrap exhaust tubes, a series oireceptacles, one associated with and disposed adjacent each head, and means irom which said lam'p lassemblie's "are extracted.

7. Ina-lamp exhausting and-tipping-ofi machine having a series of heads movable through a series of stations, each head capable of supporting an electric lamp and, exhaust tube assembly during evacuating and tipping-01f operations, anextractormechanism atom of said stations for extracting untipped-ofi lamp assemblies and scrap exhaust tubes from said heads upon their arrival at said'station, and a separating mechanism for separating the untipped-ofi Iamp assembliesfrom the scrap exhaust tubes,

' said separating mechanism comprising al'member for receiving untippd-ofl assemblies, and

guiding means for directing said lamp' assemblies into said receiving member. ,8. In a lamp exhausting and-tipping off machine having a series of heads movable. through a series of stations, each head capable of supporting an electric lamp and exhaust tube assembly during evacuating and tipping-oil operations, an extractor mechanism at one of said stations -for' extracting untipped-ofi'lamp assemblies and scrap exhaust tubes from said heads upon their arrival at said station, a scrap receivepfor receiv-- ing the scrap exhaust tubespa separate receptacle adjacent each head for receiving the unfor directing the untipped-ofl lamp assemblies from said separating mechanism .into there ,drop into said scrap'receiver.

v E. .ADOLPI-l E: DRoBIsHi 

